When the Lord has concluded His entire discourse with the words, “THE WISDOM HAS BEEN DECLARED BY ME; NOW DO AS YOU PLEASE,” Arjuna, who has been all along devotedly and attentively listening to the expounded philosophy, seems to register an expression of confusion on his face. Arjuna wants to get some more instructions. The Pandava Prince, perhaps, feels that he has not fully assimilated the deep and intimate philosophy of life as expounded by the Lord. Therefore, Krishna continues, “AGAIN I WILL REPEAT THE PROFOUNDEST ‘WISDOM’; PLEASE, ARJUNA, LISTEN ONCE AGAIN TO THIS SUPREME ‘WISDOM’.”
The motive force behind every teacher coming out into the world to preach, to explain and to expound, is his abundant love for mankind. Krishna repeats here the salient factors of his philosophical goal and the means of realising it, to Arjuna, “BECAUSE YOU ARE DEARLY BELOVED OF ME,” meaning “YOU ARE MY FAST FRIEND.” For this reason, Krishna tries to recapitulate his scheme of right living and noble endeavour in brief.
Arjuna is by temperament a soldier; and a soldier’s intellect has no patience with a dialectical discourse. What he can best appreciate is only a cut-and-dried order shouted at him, and he has been trained by his vocation always to follow it implicitly. Arjuna is expecting Krishna to recast the whole philosophy into a precise, definite, decisive commandment. Understanding this silent demand of the soldier’s heart, Krishna promises here that He shall now declare the truth which is “the most secret of all” (Sarva-guhya-tamam).
WHAT IS IT?
